This chapter examines the prospects and challenges of homestay accommodation in rural Uttarakhand, India, based on secondary data sources. Homestays are a sort of community-based tourism that provides visitors with an authentic experience of the local culture and way of life by allowing them to stay in the homes of local families. This chapter examines the potential of homestay accommodation to contribute to rural development and tourism promotion in Uttarakhand. The research is based on current literature and studies, as well as government and tourism sector data. The findings indicate that homestay accommodation has significant potential to generate income and provide alternative livelihood options for rural communities in Uttarakhand; but requires greater support and investment from the government and other stakeholders in order to address the challenges facing the homestay sector. The chapter finishes with suggestions for enhancing the viability of homestay accommodations in rural Uttarakhand, including capacity building, infrastructural improvement, and marketing assistance.
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Uttarakhand, located in northern India, is known for its natural beauty and is a popular tourist destination. The state is home to several religious and pilgrimage sites such as Haridwar, Rishikesh, Kedarnathand Badrinath, which attract millions of tourists each year. The state also offers adventure and eco-tourism activities such as trekking, skiing, river rafting, and paragliding.
As per the World Bank the global share of rural population was 57% in 1991 which decreased to 53% in 2001 and 48% in 2011. In India also condition is not any more different. The rural share of the Indian population was decrease from 74% in 1991 to 72% in 2001 and 69% in 2011. As the rural population decrease the agriculture contribution to GDP has gradually decline in past two decade. Decrease in farming activities may lead to food insecurity. The main problem of decreasing rural population is migration from rural to urban area. People from rural area migrate to urban area in search of better education and employment opportunity. Activities like Industries, trade and commerce, education centre in the city influence rural people to migrate from rural areas to urban areas. Pankaj, Faculty of Architecture, DIT University, Dehradun, India. Ashish Pant, Faculty of Architecture, DIT University, Dehradun, India. Migration is the movement of people from one place to another with the purposes of taking up permanent or semi-permanent residence in the new location. One of the most significant migration patterns has been rural to urban migration in search of opportunities. In the rural areas, sluggish agricultural growth and restricted development of the rural non-farm sector increases the rural poverty, unemployment and underemployment. Due to lack of employment opportunities people migrated from rural to urban areas in search of jobs. Migration results in abandonment of villages and causes congestion in the cities. Migration is not new to Uttarakhand. It reached a peak in the 1980s and fuelled the demand for a separate state, which everyone hoped would lead to economic growth and check migration. But according to census data the rate of migration from the hilly areas of the state has increased after it was formed in 2000, only the destination of migrants has changed. In fact, the migration to cities has been in such great numbers that Uttarakhand has recorded the highest increase in the share of urban population in any of the Himalayan states of the country while its rural decadal growth rate is the lowest. Difficult terrain, lack of transport, the lack of employment along with small landholding sizes and low farm incomes has fuelled large migration from rural areas of the state to the cities across the country. Migration leads to abandonment of villages which causes degradation of land, makes villages unlivable. Rural tourism can be a solution for these abandon villages of Uttarakhandto decrease migration and to generate sustainable employment opportunities in the rural areas of Uttarakhand.